Model Landlord 





Ik 





By following Golden Rule Oscar 

 Kiest has earned the name of 

 best landlord in Logan county 



Therefore all things u hatsoeter ye 

 would th.it men should do to you, do ye 

 even so to them — Aljltheir VII. 12. 



ARE landlords people? This ques- 

 tion was asked of his readers re- 

 cently by a metropolitan newspaper 

 columnist. He evidently had had 

 some trouble with his landlord. 



If he asked Harold Fue of Logan 

 county that question, Fue probably would 

 say: "Yes landlords are people. Some 

 are the very best of people. And you 

 can include my landlord among them." 



Fue operates a 160-acre farm near Lin- 

 coln on a 50-50 crop share basis with 

 Oscar Kiest, the landlord. 



Possible areas of friction between land- 

 lord and tenant are many, but Fue and 

 Kiest have submerged their differences 

 over the years until they now work to- 

 gether as a harmonious team. 



Both have the same motto: "\X'h.it 

 makes money for him. makes money for 

 me." The result: both have prospered 

 from the farm. Now after 21 years as 

 Kiest's tenant, Fue feels he is in a posi- 

 tion to buy his own farm. What botliers 

 him most on that score, however, is his 

 feeling of reluctance at leaving the farm 

 where he has built up a long tradition of 

 good relations with his landlord. 



Kiest, though well-versed in scientific 



farming, doesn't tell Fue what or when to 

 plant. He feels that Fue is a good 

 enough farmer to do tliat himself. The 

 tenant does, however, keep his landlord 

 informed on all operations as a matter of 

 course. 



Both landlord and tenant take a grc.it 

 deal of pride in raising crop yields. In 

 19-i6 Fue brought in 97.7 bushels of corn 

 j^er acre. 



Kiest is one of the few landlords in 

 Logan County who furnishes his tenant 

 with seed. Besides he pays for half tiie 

 cost of inoculation. He is also generous 

 in taking care of all plant food needs. 

 All of the land has been limed twice 

 and all has been phosphated once and 

 some twice. 



Fue said he once asked his landlord 

 for 200 fence posts. Four hundred were 

 delivered. Mrs. Fue is particularly happv 

 about the care Kiest gives the builduigs 

 and the farm home. The house has mod- 

 ern plumbing with stoker heat, hot and 

 cold running water, and a water softener. 

 Fue liked the moderniz.ition so well, he 

 pitched in to help with the installation 

 of the plumbing and dug out the base- 

 ment. 



By JIM THOMSON 



Ass't Editor, LAA RECORD 



Sold on the ad\ antaccs ot modern 

 rricthods o! t.irming. Kiest. at his own 

 expense, sent I ue to a L'niversity of Il- 

 linois ( oilegc of Agriculture short lourse. 



1li^ ii.is since i:'>ne on his ov.n. 



KiL^t li.id .1 renter on ;inoflier t.irm for 

 ^2 ve.irs .ui.i .1 t!!ir<! lor 10 vears. lie 

 owns a place in Nfissoiiri and one sum- 

 mer he took I'ue and another ten.int along 

 to see his (otion fields there. The men 

 ULTC gone tour davs. Kievt p.iid all ex- 

 penses. 



luc keeps his own livestoik on the 

 f.irin Ik I ,iys .ash rental on the pasture- 

 land and alialfa ground. As a condi- 

 tion tJiaf he p.iv for all fertilizer, Kiest 

 receives the soil conserwition pavments. 



.A one year lease is the Logan county 

 custom hut for manv vears Kic.st and 

 J'lie haven't boti.ereel with new leases. 

 Tlicy let the old one ride. 



Kiest says tiiere are manv advantages in 

 the lc)ni:-time lease espeeiallv if vou get 

 a good tenant. The morale of the long- 

 time ten.uit is iiigh and he takes better 

 care of the soil, the buildings, and the 

 equipment. 



"Mv ad\ice to landlord and tenant." 

 Fue s.nd. IS to be honest with one an- 

 otiier. ■^'ou will both be better o" ind 

 you will Ix- able to work in harnionw ' 



liie stopped in the midst of his work 

 in the ikKis and looked thoughtfully 

 towards the horizon. 'I've had .i lot of 

 ups and downs," he said, "but life on 

 this tann has been pretty good when you 

 consider that I arrived in Lincoln in 1912 

 with only SI 2 in mv pocket." 



The UTiter followed his gaze across 

 the fields and spoke in admiration of a 

 cluster ot beautiful buildings on an ad- 

 jacent farm. 



'T hat's one of Mr. Kiest's farms." Fue 

 said with a smile. 



L«ft: Landlord Oscar Kiest (left) tallcs over operations with 

 Tenant Harold Fue at planting time. Right: Mrs. Fue discusses 



the icitchen of her home with Mr. Kiest. 

 ing installed in the Fue home. 



Kiest hod modem plumb- 



SEPTEMBER. 1948 



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